Alessi

Brand Overview

A giant in the world of contemporary product design, Alessi is a family-owned Italian business that describes itself as a worldwide ambassador of Italian design. Founded in 1921, the company is now comprised of three individually branded divisions and features a significant international presence via nearly 250 Alessi mini-stores worldwide.

Brand History

Alessi traces its family's tradition of product design for the home to the 1700s. In the early 1900s, along the shores of Lake San Giulio (currently known as Lake Orta, in Omegna, in Itally's northwest), factories producing household furnishings began to define the area with a predominant culture of design. An early craftsman and small business owner who was informed by this sensibility, Giovanni Alessi, a sheet-metal worker, founded Alessi in 1921.

Giovanni Alessi initially produced handmade objects for the table in copper, brass, nickel, and silver. His son, Carlo joined the company soon after its founding, and became a principal designer in the mid-1930s, creating a broad range of objects through 1945, at which point hebegan to focus on running Alessi's business operations. In the early '50s, the younger Alessi took control of the company.

In 1945, Carlo Alessi was joined in running the company by his brother Ettore Alessi. Heading Alessi's technical department in the '50s, Ettore opened the company, in 1955, to collaboration with outside designers, including architects Carlo Mazzeri, Luigi Massoni, and Anselmo Vitale. The company's work with designers would prove to be highly influential in the world of product design, and many of the objects produced during this period are still popular Alessi items.

In 1970, Alberto Alessa, a recent law school graduate, came to work at Alessi. By the '80s, he was running the company, leading Alessi into a new era of collaboration with the likes of Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Richard Sapper, and Achille Castiglioni.

In 2006, Alessi announced that it would begin to divide its products into three branches: Officina Alessi, a collection of high-end and limited-edition products with a more creative and unique vision; Alessi, which would comprised the brand's more mass-marketed items; and Adi Alessi, a range directed at a broader audience than had been associated with the Alessi brand, featuring more affordable price points and a lighter, more whimsical feel.

Recent Collections

Spring/Summer 2006

Reestablishing its position as an Itallian "Engine of Design," Alessi offered, in its 2006 spring/summer collection, collaborations with design superstars such as Jasper Morrison, Richard Sapper, and Ron Arad. The collection also feature work from designers Miriam Mirri, Stefano Giovannoni, Piero Lissoni, and Kristiina Lassus.

External Links

Official Alessi Web Site

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